Malik Beasley has been indicted by federal prosecutors in New York on sports gambling charges, adding another major name to a widening federal probe that has already pulled in several former NBA players.
According to Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic, former NBA big man Ed Davis was also indicted. Beasley’s attorney, Steve Haney, told Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press that his client is facing sports betting, money laundering, and wire fraud charges and that they “look forward to defending all charges.”
The allegations center on Beasley’s time with the Bucks during the 2023/24 season. Prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York say Beasley and Davis grew close while they were teammates on the 2020/21 Timberwolves and later worked together to manipulate Beasley’s performance in four different NBA games for betting purposes.
Authorities say the alleged scheme involved millions of dollars in gambling losses and included Davis plus three other people, among them former NBA agent Paolo Zamorano. Prosecutors contend the group was trying to use the betting arrangement to help cover that debt.
One of the clearest details in the case comes from a text message prosecutors say Davis sent Beasley about a month before the first targeted game, a Bucks/Cavaliers matchup on January 26, 2024. In that message, Davis allegedly wrote: “Only way you can beat Vegas is sports betting,” and added, “Everything else they got the edge.”
The other games identified by prosecutors were February 27 against the Hornets, March 10 against the Clippers, and March 21 against the Nets. In the January 26 game, Beasley took only two shots from the field and scored three points, and investigators say the group wagered thousands of dollars on that contest.
The reported betting activity also included props tied to Beasley’s rebounding numbers. The group allegedly took the “over” on his rebounds at 3.5 in the Clippers game and celebrated when he grabbed his fourth rebound in the closing seconds. But the plan fell apart in the Nets game, where they had bet the “under” on his rebounds and Beasley finished with six boards.
Beasley’s fall from a promising free-agent position has been sharp. The sharpshooter finished second in Sixth Man of the Year voting in 2024/25 and appeared set for a lucrative multiyear deal with the Pistons before those negotiations stopped after reports that federal investigators and the NBA were looking into a possible link to illegal betting activity. The 29-year-old later signed with Cangrejeros de Santurce, a Puerto Rican team owned by Bad Bunny, while his NBA future remains uncertain.
The NBA also addressed the indictment on Wednesday. In a statement released by spokesperson Mike Bass, the league said it is reviewing the case and will continue to cooperate with authorities.
“We are in the process of reviewing the federal indictment unsealed today involving Malik Beasley and Ed Davis. Beasley last played in the NBA during the 2024/25 season and Davis last played in the league during the 2021/22 season.
We will continue to investigate this matter and cooperate with the relevant authorities. We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness, and the integrity of our game remains our top priority.”
Beasley and Davis are now the fourth and fifth former NBA players indicted by federal prosecutors in the gambling investigation, joining Terry Rozier, Jontay Porter, and Damon Jones. Porter was permanently banned from the NBA after a league investigation found he had shared confidential information with bettors. The other cases remain active.
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